Britta’s bids farewell

Mathis Winkler

When Britta Pulliam closes Britta’s Cafe for the last time on Sunday,

she’ll do so with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, she’s excited about opening a new Britta’s Cafe in

Irvine’s University Town Center in the fall.

But at the same time, she’s leaving behind customers and employees who

have become like family in the 14 years that she’s been serving food on

Main Street.

“It’s kind of like graduating from high school and going to college,”

Pulliam said Monday, sitting at a table inside the restaurant. “It’s

bittersweet. There are some customers I know will come and see us [in

Irvine]. But they won’t drive up there every day.”

Originally, Pulliam planned to keep her cafe on the peninsula while

opening a second one. But when former resident Paul Mesmer approached her

about taking over on Main Street, she realized it was the way to go.

“I think I’m really more of a one-restaurant restaurateur,” she said.

“I’m very detail-oriented.”

She is compelled to fix even the smallest things, such as a knife

pointing in the wrong direction, Pulliam said, adding that this might

have something to do with her German heritage.

And with two places to monitor, “my daughter would probably not see

her mom again,” she said.

While sad about her departure, Pulliam’s fans said they understand.

“This was her first restaurant, and she was only going to stay five or

10 years,” said Gay Wassall-Kelly, the president of the Balboa

Merchants/Owners Assn. But “we’re really going to miss her.”

Michele Roberge, the executive director of the Balboa Performing Arts

Theater Foundation, added that her group will miss Pulliam as a

cheerleader for the theater.

“I don’t think a single person has been here without hearing about the

Balboa Theater,” Roberge said Monday as she stopped by the cafe. “She’s

wonderful. We’ll miss her. But we wish her all the best.”

Britta’s regular Barbara Thompson, who comes in for breakfast every

morning with her husband, Richard, said she hoped the new owners would

maintain the restaurant’s family atmosphere.

“It’s just been a real pleasure to go there,” Thompson said, adding

that she’d most likely show up for breakfast on July 10, when the cafe

will be renamed Bibi Anna’s Cafe after Mesmer’s fiancee, Bibi Anna Van

Zanten.

The new owner said he plans to keep the restaurant’s spirit alive.

“We’re not going to make any wholesale changes at all,” said Mesmer,

who directs a manufacturing company. He added that he always wanted to

open a restaurant, and Britta’s seemed like a great place to start.

And while Pulliam will mainly focus her attention on her new

restaurant, she said she’d stay involved in helping to revitalize

Balboa’s downtown area as much as possible.

“We need changes down here,” the Corona del Mar resident said. “We

need to improve this area.”

FYI

Britta’s Cafe’s last day will be Sunday. On Monday, Pulliam will hold

a farewell happy hour from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The restaurant is at 205 Main

St. Information: (949) 675-8146.